A STORE that has been in Woking's main shopping centre for 17 years pulled its shutters down for the final time on Thursday.

The disappearance of Marks & Spencer is the latest closure to leave a dark corner in The Peacocks.

Thirty-five people have lost their jobs. Management told them they could not talk to the press or have their photograph taken.

The Woking branch was one of just two main stores in the country to be axed in a round of M&S cutbacks. The company also closed 25 Simply Food stores nationwide.

Norman Penty, 70, of Horsell, said that more than 40 years ago, when he was chairman of a consumer association in Woking, the group wrote to Marks & Spencer to encourage the brand to have a shop in the town centre.

Mr Penty, of Lych Way, said the store was just too small for Woking’s growing population. He felt the company should have been given more support from Woking Borough Council and Peacocks centre management.

He said: “It is disastrous that it ever got to that state. Why should people go to Woking to shop?

“It’s very sad for the people who worked there - it’s not their fault.”

Mr Penty said that even though the borough council had intervened with its four-point plan to help businesses survive the economic downturn, he felt it was too late.

In the past few weeks a number of other retailers have closed their doors in the town centre.

Principles, next to M&S, closed on March 9 after administrators failed to find a buyer for the clothing chain.

The store’s former parent company, Mosaic, put the business into administration.

Zavvi, Adams, Rosebys, Joy and Woolworths have all also closed in recent months.

The Peacocks centre management said it was not aware of any other pending closures.

There is some good news, however.

BBs Coffee and Muffins will be returning to The Peacocks and Wolsey Place shopping centres and is recruiting for new staff.

The cafes closed earlier this year, but the company was unable to confirm reopening dates.